Bexar Co. judge calls on Perry to veto tax bill

A former San Antonio mayor now serving as Bexar County Judge is asking Governor Rick Perry to flex his veto power on a bill he says would unfairly change the state’s property tax code, its litigation process and would benefit wealthy commercial property owners and trial lawyers.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff

County Judge Nelson Wolff penned a letter to Perry Wednesday, stating House Bill 585 makes an unconstitutional change in the state’s tax code and would result in property taxes being unequal throughout Texas. Wolff takes issue with a change of burden of proof and who can collect attorney fees, both of which are “gifts” to trial lawyers at the expense of appraisal districts, he says.

“The appraisal process must be as uniform and fair as possible,” Wolff writes. “HB 585 works against this goal and again I ask that you exercise your veto power.”

Changes in the bill raise the burden of proof for appraisal districts, benefiting trial lawyers, Wolff states. It also changes requirements for petitions filed in litigation. The “largest gift to trial lawyers”, however, comes in section 27 of the bill.

“Unlike trial lawyers, districts successfully defending their appraisals may not recover attorney fees,” Wolff states. “So taxpayers lose in some way no matter the ultimate outcome of the case.”